The Battle That Ended It
by Shinyzenith
Summary: Angelina had a boyfriend. But one night, she decided that perhaps, he wasn't the one for her.


**The Battle That Ended It**

Angelina studied the carnage in front of her with fascination, suppressing a smile, but not quite managing to contain a slight twitch of her lips, as another black figure was battered aside. Her boyfriend, George, smiled triumphantly as he noticed the crack in her facade. Though he also may have just been happy about taking another of the opponent's minions down. Turning back to the battlefield, he observed his opponent's movements.

"I am destined for victory! You are fated for defeat! There's no escape for you!"

Angelina had never been particularly fond of chess. Especially not if she was just watching a game instead of playing herself. George's dramatic comments while playing made it a lot funnier though. The fact that he was up against his brother only added to the enjoyment because they were so in tune with each other. They were equally matched in skill, and their mocking comments fit together perfectly.

"You shouldn't make light of your adversary. Fate can be fooled, after all."

Angelina giggled. The game continued like that for a while, though she did get bored towards the end. Which was the general state of their relationship at the moment, boring. She did like George, but he just didn't pay enough attention to her.

"Surely you don't believe an amateur like you stands a chance against _me_? Preposterous!"

The times he did focus on her alone, were great. But they were far and few between. Even now, what had started as entertaining her with comments, had become entertaining himself and his brother with comments. Fred just always came first for George, even if he didn't realise it. Angelina understood that, but she just felt as if she wasn't good enough for him.

"I certainly appear to be superior in this particular altercation. You fell for my deception, and are now trapped!"

Angelina also had trouble recognising George sometimes. She had asked him to wear different clothes than his twin, otherwise she just might mistake Fred for him if she wasn't paying enough attention. That was one embarrassing situation she wanted to avoid at all costs.

"You forget, that it is just when you believe you have outwitted your enemy, that you are most susceptible to being outmanoeuvred yourself! Or… surely not. Not even you could be that devious!"

When they had gotten together, she had imagined them to bond even closer than he did with his brother. It had become clear though, that that wouldn't happen. The twins had something special between them, and Angelina wasn't a part of that. She was jealous, she could admit to herself.

"In you final moments you finally realize it? I have been one step ahead of you this whole time! That rook was just bait, a distraction!"

To sum everything up, having a boyfriend wasn't what Angelina had imagined it to be. And she didn't think she could do it any longer. So she resolved to break up with him. But she wasn't quite sure on how to go about doing that.

"How could you? They are not playthings for you to have fun with! They are living, breathing people!"

Just saying to him that it was over seemed terribly mean. She had heard a few older girls say they simply sent a letter, so they didn't have to do it face to face. But that seemed cowardly. Angelina wasn't a coward.

"Their lives are worthless! They pledged their allegiance to me, so I can use them as I see fit. Now, the time is nigh! I can nearly taste victory!"

She liked to take things head on. So she would have to figure out a way to tell George straight to his face, but still be nice about it. The first problem would be to get him alone. She wouldn't do it where everyone could see them. Getting him to leave Fred behind could be annoying though. He just didn't seem to get that Angelina sometimes wanted to spend time with just him.

"It seems defeat is imminent… Wait, no, I can do _this_!"

Angelina was startled out of her thoughts as George's shout sounded through the common room. Fred looked shocked as George suddenly managed to win the game in a single move.

"Checkmate."

"Well, that sucks…"

George then turned to her.

"Did you see that? I won this game for you, you're safe again from my evil twin."

"Well, it seems chivalry isn't dead after all."

Angelina smiled at him. After her previous thoughts, though, she quite couldn't bring herself to make the smile very convincing. Something George picked up on. He and Fred were notoriously good at seeing through lies. Probably because they were so good at misleading people themselves.

"What's wrong?"

Angelina took a deep breath and decided that now was the time.

"George, can we talk? In private?"

He looked at her strangely for a second, but then nodded his head. Angelina led him out the portrait hole, and walked to the nearest empty classroom. Once they were inside, she only looked at him after she had carefully locked the door.

"So… what's this about?"

"George, I…"

Angelina had no idea how to say it. She had never been particularly good at not being blunt.

"I just don't feel like this is really working between us."

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?"

The look on his face made her want to try to take it back. But she wouldn't.

"Yes. It's not really working out. You're not interested in me."

"What? That's not true!"

"It is. When's the last time we did something together, without Fred there?"

"Er, I don't know…"

"Exactly."

"Can't you give me another chance?"

"George, it's clear you want to spend time with your brother. Just do that. If you want, we can try again in a few years."

Angelina left quickly after that, using his brief thoughtful pause as an escape route. She felt guilty for lying. She didn't believe she would ever get back together with him. He would get over it, she told herself. He'd get together with some other girl eventually, and everything would be all right.


End file.
